The present invention relates generally to the game of baseball or softball and more particularly to the batters' box utilized in baseball and softball.
In baseball and softball diamonds the batters' box requires continual care by the umpire and also by the groundskeepers to maintain the level of the ground within the box. Each batter, as he comes to the plate for his turn at the bat, feels it is necessary to use the spikes or cleats on his footwear to dig a hole in the batters' box to suit his own taste or disposition. As a result, each batter finds it necessary when he comes to the plate to rearrange the dirt within the batters' box. This results in substantial holes being dug within the surface of the batters' box and often requires the groundskeeper to come repair the batters' box in the midst of games.
Attempts have been made to provide artificial surfaces for the batters' box which will give the batter good frictional footing, but which will not permit the batter to dig holes in the batters' box. One such accessory or surface is found in U.S. Pat. No. 3,813,097. In this patent, the batters' box surface is made of hard, automobile, tire-like rubber which is placed flush with the playing surface and staked in place. White foul lines are molded or added to the surface and the entire surface fits within the regulation twenty-six foot (26') dirt circle when placed in alignment with the baseball field diamond boundary. The surface of the batters' box, as disclosed in this patent, presents two problems which prohibit its utilization in an actual game. The first drawback is that the surface does not permit the batter to engage his spikes into the surface at all and thereby makes it uncomfortable and sometimes unsafe for the batter utilizing such surface. A more serious objection, however, results when runners are coming to the plate during a close play which requires them to slide in order to reach the plate without being tagged by the catcher. With the use of the hard, rubber surface disclosed in this patent the runner is almost certain to be injured in sliding into home plate.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,492,728 discloses a sports ground covering which has a lower or cushioning layer and an upper or wear resisting coating between which there is a reinforcing iron netting. Both the upper and lower layers contain rubber chips which are produced from old automobile tires. The lower layer is additionally provided with spherical, expanded clay which gives the lower layer a particular elasticity and makes it independent of the atmospheric humidity during production of the covering. This patent is not very specific as to how the disclosed covering will be used, but it appears that the covering is designed to provide the playing surface utilized by the sportsmen playing games thereon. There is no suggestion that this material could be used on baseball diamonds or more particularly in batters' boxes on baseball or softball diamonds. It is obvious that should the covering material of this patent be utilized as the batters' box surfaces in the batters' boxes of baseball or softball diamonds it would suffer from the same drawbacks outlined above with regard to U.S. Pat. No. 3,813,097.